People talk and write about whether or not something is “art”. JOI finds this discussion pompous and tedious and therefore feels obliged to pompously and tediously jump into the discussion.
In its traditional meaning, “art” is what people do or what people create. Everything anyone does is art. Some try to work around this by differentiating “the arts” from “art” in general, but JOI sees no difference except that the former is plural.
There is no dividing line. The first child to throw a pebble in a pond and watch the ripples spread creates art as does the thousandth child to do the same. The craftsman machining a sprocket creates art as surely as Michelangelo painting the Sistine Chapel.
This is not to claim that art is all the same. Different works of art surely have different qualities. But to judge one work of art as “better” than another, one must first decide on the qualities of interest, and the qualities of interest will depend on one’s purpose.
Before me is a beautiful hand-made, hand-painted plate. It hangs on the wall above the credenza. Also before me is a mass-produced Corelle plate with a printed fruit pattern around the edges. It sits on the dining table. They are both art. Which is better? For hanging on the wall we obviously chose the one and for serving dinner the other. They are each better for a specific purpose.
Even among the so-called “fine arts”, one painting or musical composition is better in a setting where another would be totally inappropriate. But the latter might be the better in a different setting.
Therefore, ask not, “Is it art?” Ask instead, “Is it appropriate?”
Posted February 9, 2021